National ID system moving forward — Neri

MANILA, Philippines - An identification (ID) system unifying government services could be in place as early as next year with the card issued by the Social Security System (SSS) at its core, the chief of the state pension fund on Monday said. Newly appointed SSS Administrator Romulo L. Neri said the National Statistics Office (NSO) could soon provide the so-called "common reference number" that would harmonize the ID systems of the SSS, the Government Service and Insurance System (GSIS) and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). Other state agencies and government-owned-and-controlled firms are expected to join in the SSS-led ID network. "The multipurpose ID will take one or two years to cover more millions of members. Within this month, ibibigay na sa amin ng NSO (the NSO will give us) the common reference number for each ID user so that an SSS ID could be used for PhilHealth and eventually for other transactions" Mr. Neri said at sidelines of the SSS’s 51st anniversary celebration Monday. "The SSS ID will be interconnectable or interoperable," he pointed out. The SSS’ role in building a unified ID network is embodied in Executive Order 700 signed last January 16. The move veers away from earlier efforts to implement a national ID system, which failed to get legal backing from the Supreme Court and the support of human rights groups. Under that Malacañang-issued directive, the NSO and other government agencies were tasked to help the SSS develop the unified multipurpose ID system. The state pension fund should be able to clear its ID backlogs, some 700,000 of its 28 million members, before the year ends, Mr. Neri said. The SSS has been issuing its ID, which officials said contains biometric and other security features, since late 1990s. - BusinessWorld